European Week for Waste Reduction
European Week for Waste Reduction
Queen's University are participating in European Week for Waste Reduction 2024, with events taking place from 18-23 November across the campus.
Throughout the week, staff, students, and the wider community will have meaningful opportunities for hands-on involvement in sustainability and community-building events and activities. Activities include a drop-in session with Freedom Cycles, a Repair Café, a Student Swap Shop, our annual Big Autumn Litter Pick and more!
View the EWWR Timetable here.
Active Travel Month: June
Bike Week 2024
10 - 14 June 2024
Bike Week took place from the 10 - 14 June with a range of opportunities available to encourage our community to travel Green to Queen's.
- Bike Loop Cycle Clinic and Bike Security Drop in Sessions
- Staff Social Cycle and E-Bike Experience
- A range of Webinars:
A full breakdown of Bike Week activities can be viewed here.
Green Month of Community Action
Handy Helpers X Queen's Film Theatre
8 May 2024
This event was a continuation of a Green Fund project that was started last year by SU Volunteer's Handy Helpers.
This time round, Handy Helpers freshened up some of the paint in the QFT courtyard, as well as some weeding and replanting of sensory plants.
Litter Pick along the River Lagan
14 May 2024
The Sustainability Team and Su Volunteer joined forces with Queen's Sport and the Rowing Club to tidy the banks of the River Lagan. Volunteers worked along the road to tidy the banks from above, as well as some taking to boats and tidying the banks from the water.
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Planting at the David Keir Building (DKB) Quad
22 May 2024
This event was also a continuation of a Green Fund project that needed some TLC.
Staff and student volunteers helped to weed and replant planters in the DKB Quad as a nice way to take a break from studying and sitting at their desks.
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Community Gardening at Elmwood Learning and Teaching Centre
27 - 28 May 2024
SU Volunteer hosted a planting and tidying session at the ELTC building, which saw staff and students collaborating to plant different sensory plants, repainting the ELTC benches that needed some TLC, as well as giving the area a general tidy.
Bioblitz with Friends of the Field
29 May 2024
The final event of Green Month of Community Action was a Bioblitz hosted by Friends of the Field community group in lower Botanic Gardens.
Staff, students, local community members and Buglife worked together to collect and identify a range of bugs in the Botanic site, with all the data being input into the iNaturalist app. The data for Friends of the Field was doubled by the efforts of our volunteers, with almost 300 observations, 132 species and 27 participant-observers. The field is now one of the best recorded areas in Belfast.
Earth Day 2023: 22 April
Earth Day 2023
21 and 22 April 2023
RSPB wildlife presentation, birdwatching tour, birdfeeder-making and gardening... what's not to love! Join SU Volunteer and friends in unwinding with nature this Earth Day Weekend! In today's eco-conscious world, it is more important than ever to remind ourselves of the earth around us, and to appreciate the wonders of wildlife.
Annual Holiday Switch Off
Annual Holiday Switch Off
22 December 2022 - 3 January 2023
The Sustainability Team are encouraging you to do what you can to make a difference by switching off before you leave for the holidays. The impact of small changes and actions by a large number of us working together as a staff community can make a big difference.
Fairtrade Fortnight 2023: 27 February to 12 March
Fairtrade Fortnight
27 February - 12 March 2023
This year, Fairtrade Fortnight is focusing on how choosing Fairtrade helps protect our most-loved foods, and our planet.
You can get involved in Fairtrade Fortnight via a range of events, and activities:
- Within your Faculty or Directorate, we are encouraging you to host your own Fairtrade Fortnight Coffee Morning. Send photos of your coffee morning, containing your baked goods, to the Sustainability Team. Best photo will win a fairtrade hamper!
- You can shop a range of Fairtrade items in Spar and Union Shop (One Elmwood), such as tea bags, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits, snack bars, chocolate bars and sweets. All clothing is Fairtrade, and they will be running a 20% off promotion on Fairtrade products for the fortnight. All departments are welcome to set up and pay by account in the shop.
QMS Fairtrade Coffee Morning
15 February 2023
Queen's Business School hosted a Fairtrade Coffee Morning on 15 February 2023 as the start of the Fairtrade Fortnight campaign.
Sean and Breige from the Management School prepared some lovely Fairtrade treats, including Dark Chocolate Fridge Cake and Banana Breakfast Muffins. The photos don't do the treats justice, look how delicious they look!
And, importantly, the ingredients used had the Fairtrade seal of approval.
School of Dentistry Fairtrade Coffee Morning
1 March 2023
The School of Dentistry hosted a Fairtrade Coffee Morning on 1 March 2023, and encouraged dentistry staff and students to try some Fairtrade products, as well as bringing their own reusable cups to enjoy Fairtrade tea and coffee.
Faculty MHLS Fairtrade Coffee Morning
1 March 2023
Faculty Office (Medicine, Health & Life Sciences) hosted a Fairtrade Coffee Morning to coincide with their Team Brief on 1 March 2023. As you can see from the picture, all treats were Fairtrade, staff were encouraged to bring their own mugs and reusable cups and some even sampled the new Cadburys Plant Based Chocolate, which was created in partnership with Fairtrade.
The Graduate School Fairtrade Coffee Morning
3 March 2023
The Graduate School hosted a Fairtrade Coffee Morning on 3 March 2023 in the Graduate School Social Space. Staff and students gathered together to enjoy some Fairtrade tea, coffee and snacks, and to discuss and learn about Fairtrade practices along the way.
Community Gardening with a Twist
7 March 2023
As part of Green Week, QUBeWell Week and Fairtrade Fortnight, SU Volunteer hosted a Community Gardening Event for staff, students and local residents. The twist was drawing a community map on recycled paper, which then was used to create plant pots. Also, staff and students were tasked to create some bird feeders out of pipe cleaners and cheerios! All snacks provided were Fairtrade, as you can see from the snack table pictured. Well done to everyone involved, and thanks to the team at SU Volunteer for organising such a fun event!
Green Week 2023: 6 to 10 March
Green Week
6 - 10 March 2023
Green Week is taking place from 6 to 10 March 2023. This year, Green Week is focusing on education and learning that tackles climate change and protects nature. During Green Week, make sure to get out in nature and do your bit to help the planet!
Click here to view the timetable of events for Green Week, including a Geopolitics talk from the School of Natural and Built Environment's very own Tristan Sturm.
E-Bike Trial and Coffee Morning at ECIT
6 March 2023
To start off Green Week, the Institute of Electronics, Communications & Information Technology (ECIT) hosted a coffee morning and E-Bike trial in the Titanic Quarter for staff and students. It was great to see so many people interested in sustainable travel, and even giving the E-bike a go!
If you are interested in trialing an E-Bike, you can contact sustainability@qub.ac.uk for more information.
Community Gardening with a Twist
7 March 2023
As part of Green Week, QUBeWell Week and Fairtrade Fortnight, SU Volunteer hosted a Community Gardening Event for staff, students and local residents. The twist was drawing a community map on recycled paper, which then was used to create plant pots. Also, staff and students were tasked to create some bird feeders out of pipe cleaners and cheerio's! All snacks provided were Fairtrade, which volunteers enjoyed very much. Well done to everyone involved, and thanks to the team at SU Volunteer for organising such a fun event!
Sustainable Cookery Classes
8 March 2023
On Wednesday afternoon, we hosted Belfast City Council in the Elm's BT9 sharing kitchens to run some sustainable cookery classes. The idea for the cookery classes came from a student called Fionán McBride, who sent in an application for the Queen's Green Fund and successfully received £300 to pay for ingredients for the classes. Some of the ingredients were purchased from the Refill Quarter on the Lisburn Road, including flour, sugar and baking powder.
Some of the food that has been made so far are tortilla pizzas, minestrone soup and banana pancakes (made with Fairtrade bananas!).
Overall the Sustainable Cookery Classes have been a great success, and have helped students learn the best tips and tricks to avoid wasting food and using up leftovers in their fridges.
You can see highlights of the classes over on our TikTok.
Climate Geopolitics: Our Shared Future
9 March 2023
The science is unequivocal: climate change is real, and it is driven by human activities. But how will it influence our everyday life, our communities, our nation-states, and geopolitics?
Is catastrophic climate change an inevitability and what can we do—as individuals, societies, and as a university—to mitigate and adapt to these changes?
Thank you to Tristan Sturm from the School of Natural and Built Environment for hosting this stimulating geopolitics talk, we thoroughly enjoyed it!
What You Can Do
What You Can Do